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The Docks (District)
The Docks is the gateway to the east for most people, and it is a combination of constantly shifting ships and cargo and cheap places for sailors to get drunk, fulfill their carnal desires and sleep off the effects of both. No one planning to stay in Val Royeaux for more than a day should stay in the Docks, where security is low and the quality of goods is cheap. The docks are remarkably permissive of minor scuffles, with the Harbor Guard allowing fistfights to go on without interference and ignoring knife duels as long as no one of importance is involved and it doesn’t seem likely to turn into a riot. In addition to the constant yelling of working men shifting loads and readying ships, criers also add to the ruckus of the Docks. All day and night, the services of nearly every business in Val Royeaux is advertised by loud youths who offer directions to any place in the city for a copper, or their own master’s business for free. Guides, guards and hotspurs looking to serve as both also trawl the Docks looking for prospective employers or easy marks. However, thieves rarely pick pockets down at the docks, as the Primarch dislikes crimes occurring on the doorstep of trade into his city. Instead, victims that look likely to be worth the effort are followed and jumped once they pass into another district. The Beast Located at the Long Pier near the center of the Docks, this building appears to be a five-story stone windmill-like structure, with a long wooden winch and rope system sticking out of the top where fan-blades would be on a true windmill. This is the Beast, the largest crane in the Known World, a massive, rotating lifting device containing 16 human-operated treadwheels within its stone structure. Built 500 years ago and well-maintained since, the Beast is capable of lifting nearly 60 tons to a height of 55 feet. The Grog Pit The most notorious tavern and flophouse on the docks, the Grog Pit is a place to avoid if you possibly can. The drinks are sour, the bartender sourer and a third of the patrons are either cutpurses or con artists. An example of its unsavory nature is the fact that its famous “Grog” is simply a collection of whatever the owner can find to pour into an open-topped barrel, including leftovers from a patron’s glass, spoiled wine brought in from resellers and rotting hallucinogenic herbs steeped in saltwater. Brawls are a nightly (and sometimes hourly) occurrence, patrons rarely go outside to relieve themselves and the virtue of the serving girls and boys is…up for rent. However, the Grog Pit is cheap (any coin of any nation gets you a large, wooden mug full), no one is denied service and the stone walls are fireproof. Anyone who buys a mug can sleep off its effects in the main hall for free (unless you count being robbed, raped or infected with lice) and bad behavior never gets you kicked out. Large enough groups of sailors are usually safe and charitable priests occasionally make passes through the building to treat diseases. Despite the best efforts of merchants and ship captains, the Grog Pit stays open because it’s popular with the dock workers. When it gets closed down, no goods move on or off ships until it reopens. Ogrekin Hall A stout, simple-looking stone building, Ogrekin Hall is the home of the Ogrekin, a portage and hauling business that carries anything you need moved anywhere within the city. Owned and operated by the Second Harbormaster, the employees work closely with various local business to get to ships first and offer to move their goods quickly, safely and securely. Nobody’s sure why the business is called what it is. Sea King Shipyard Dominating the only dock still functioning in the Quarter, the Sea King Shipyard is a small operation that builds the Sea King Shipyard is a small operation that builds a single ocean-going vessel at a time. However, the yard builds ships to a high degree of precision and sturdiness, creating vessels that can sail the most dangerous waters in the South.